Bag tossing games are popular because they are safe and fun to play for people of all ages, and can be transported to, and played in, almost any location. Such games generally have few parts and can be set up relatively quickly, which further adds to the appeal of these games, particularly for children for whom a complicated and difficult set-up procedure may tend to discourage them from playing a game. Since these games are transportable, they are made to be as lightweight as possible to make transport thereof easier, while still providing a sturdy structure for use during game play.
Bag tossing games generally include a target structure having a hole through which players try to toss, pitch, or otherwise project, bean filled bags or the like. A myriad of target devices are known in the prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,650 to Haney discloses a target device that utilizes two sheets hinged together, with a brace pivotally secured to one of the sheets and engaged with the opposite sheet, thus forming a foldable target. However, the two sheets are hinged together in a manner such that one sheet is shorter than the other sheet, which would make carrying of the folded sheets difficult since the shorter sheet would often times tend to rotate toward the unfolded position. Further, due to a lack of a handle or similar structure, carrying of the folded target would be difficult for young and old alike. In addition, the brace must be specially locked with locking structure provided on the opposite sheet, which would make set-up of the target difficult for children to accomplish, thus deterring children from using the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,065 to DeLapa discloses a box-like target structure that is foldable for storage purposes, and which utilizes a handle to facilitate carrying of the folded structure. The target structure includes an upper planar, flexible member having a hole formed therein to allow passage of a bag. Front, rear and side support members are hingedly attached to the flexible member to support the member at an angle above the ground. However, the large number of support members needed to support the flexible member would make it difficult to set-up the target, since adjacent edges must be secured together in order to provide a rigid structure. Further, the use of the handle requires a complicated attachment/detachment procedure of the handle each time the target is folded/unfolded, which would make the target difficult to use, particularly for children.
Further, each of the above noted folding target structures require that the user separately carry the bags associated with the game, since no provision is made for carrying the bags along with the folded structure. This can often result in the bags being separated from the target structure and lost, rendering the game useless until additional bags are obtained.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for an improved target structure that is lightweight, foldable and is easily carried during transport, yet which can be set-up into a sturdy structure in an easy manner. Further, there exists a need for a bag toss game in which the bags can be carried along with the folded target structure.